Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada Indice de progr

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Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic CanadaIndice
de progrès véritable - AtlantiqueSocial and
Economic Development- Are They
Compatible?Ronald Colman Ph.D, FEDC-DM,
Halifax, 19 March, 2003
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The Convergence of Economic and Social Development

• New economy brings
• New social faultlines, and
• New opportunities in society.

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New Economy.New Faultlines

• Knowledge economy may exacerbate education and
  health disparities
• Dismantled trade barriers have major impact on
  domestic firm structure, work hours, work
  security
• Women doubled employment rate affecting gender
  roles, children, family structure, time stress
• Era of fiscal restraint shrinks health and social
  supports, social capital is stressed.
• Natural resource consumption has deeply altered
  fishing, forestry, farming, water resources.

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More consumption of goods. But natural world is
poorer
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Result Economic Developers Face New Paradigm

• Economic and social development inseparable.
• Global evidence greater income equality is
  related to economic success and higher
  productivity.(Savoie, Osberg, Sharpe, et al)
• Realistic view of capital includes human,
  natural, and social capital. and their
  depletion.
• Costs of ill health, illiteracy, crime --crowd
  out investment in productive infrastructure.

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Full cost accounting shows

• Unemployment, poverty, inequality, poor education
  bring
• higher costs of health care, crime defensive
  expenditures
• loss of innovation potential.by waste of
  precious human assets (C. Leadbetter, et al
  Livingstone, 1998)
• Full-cost accounting improves market efficiency,
  (eg energy conservation) AND obviates need for
  heavy-handed government regulation

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E.g. Health costs of inequality .

• Low income women 15-39 62 more likely to be
  hospitalized than high income women 40 92.
  Men lt 40 46 40 57
• No high school use doctors 49 more cf BA Low
  income 43 more than higher income. 70 mill/yr
  excess use due to inequality
• If all Nova Scotians were as heart healthy as
  higher income NS save 200 lives, 124m /yr

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.delayed development in children

• 31 indicators - as family income falls, children
  have more health problems, (NLSCY, NPHS,
  Statistics Canada)
• Child poverty -gt higher rates respiratory
  illness, obesity, high blood lead, iron
  deficiency, FAS, LBW, injury, delayed
  development, poor job prospects..
• .Poverty is costly!

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The high costs of poor education and unemployment

• 42 NS prison inmates have less than Grade 10
  education (cf 19 population)
• Aboriginals jailed at 4 times pop. Rate
• 67 unemployed at time of admission (5x
  population rate) Costly
• 44,165 inmate/year cf 3-year SMU - tuition,
  room, board 33,200

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Economic developers new paradigm

• Quality of life influences location decisions
  -especially for knowledge economy sectors
• Efficiency and equity no longer a tradeoff. new
  notions of competitiveness
• Longer- term innovation capacity more important
  for sustainable development than short-term
  productivity gains

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Economic developers

• Area Development magazine- corporate surveys say
  knowledge-based sectors watch quality of life
  indicators
• crime rates
• recreation,
• environment (air quality influences CEO
  location)
• education, health care

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Quality of Life a Proven Economic Development
Issue

• US cities which invested in quality of life and
  social infrastructure retained best and
  brightest. (Richard Florida, 2002)
• Montreal resurgence explained by economic and
  social attractions - I.e. environment, arts,
  festivals, recreation, diversity.

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More awareness of Econ-Social links, awareness of
indicators

• Quebec election, social issues are in the
  forefront
• We have one of the worlds highest suicide rates
  among young people, one of the highest divorce
  rates, one of the highest rates of single-parent
  families, not to mention North Americas highest
  abortion rate and lowest birthrate. What are the
  people we elect to govern us doing to solve these
  problems? Henri Comte, president, Medianor,
  Globe Mail (Mar 15)

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Challenges in advancing new paradigm are major

• Current indicators equating GDP growth with
  wellbeing are misleading - for policy makers and
  public alike. E.g. Higher fuel consumption and
  crime rates make economy grow
• Data availability limited by current view
• Silo nature of government
• Requires long-term vs short-term (4-5 yr)
  thinking (investment orientation)

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Government Silos. costly examples

• Tobacco control need ministries of Health,
  Education, Finance, Tourism at table
• Employment Government and unions failed to
  cooperate on voluntary work time reduction to
  avoid layoffs (Albany NY model)
• Equity and social inclusion-no ministerial
  portfolio (UK now has one)

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Human, social, natural capital depreciate
invisibly if not counted

• 1) Health as human capital investment
• NS workers lose more work days due to illness and
  disability (8.3/yr) compared to Canada (7),
  Ontario (6)
• If NS workers were as healthy as Canadian
  workers, economic savings would be 63 m. /year.
  If NS workers matched Ontario savings would be
  97 m.
• Health promotion pays In NS healthier workers
  can save economy almost 100 million per year

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Current indicators send misleading messages

• Canadians spend 10 billion buying 40 billion
  cigarettes counts as economic growth
• Canadians will spend 12 billion on fast food.
  Tim Hortons will open 170 new stores
• Taxpayers will spend 6 billion treating smoking
  and obesity-related illnesses
• We spend 103 billion treating sickness, up by
  6.5 per cent a year since 1998, and double the
  spending in 1980 growth industry

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Measuring wellbeing more accurately

• ask what is growing, not just how much is
  growing
• distinguish assets (eg health, security) from
  liabilities (eg sickness, poverty) count
  sickness as cost, not gain to economy value
  health as human capital subject to depreciation
• value health and its key determinants (e.g.
  equity, education, livelihood security,
  environmental quality) as core measures of
  wellbeing
• Policy implication shift focus of action from
  an almost exclusive preoccupation with treating
  illness to a greater emphasis on improving health
  and preventing disease.

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2) Social capital -Volunteerism
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But fewer volunteers/longer hrs. depreciation
of social capital
1997 2000 change
Canada 7,472 6,513 -12.3
Nfld 150 138 -8.0
PEI 38 40 5.2
N.S. 283 253 -10.7
N.B. 208 174 -16.3
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3) Natural capital depreciation
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Incentives to move ahead NS as Nth American
leader

• Control health costs through health promotion
• Outstanding models Holland (work), Denmark
  (wind), UK (health), NS (waste)
• Explosion in markets for clean technology,
  organic agriculture, sustainably harvested wood
• Good news stories - new indicators would
  recognize and count assets of Atlantic Canada

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Smart Growth Movement

• Conference- Vancouver, March, 2003
• Austin, Texas - development projects must pass 13
  sustainability criteria
• Melbourne - triple bottom line economic,
  social and environmental criteria for development
• Slow Cities movement - Italy, Europe.

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Fed-provincial policy shift occurring

• Inter-jurisdictional federal-provincial
  initiatives like BBI, CEED, skills-building,
  innovation, sustainable communities
• ACOA CED, inclusive entrepreneurship loan
  provision, e.g. FRAM, ABSN
• Inter-sectoral initiatives Fed. Cabinet social
  and economic committee rotating chairs
  Commissioner of Sustainable Development
• Social determinants of health recognized

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Provincial initiatives - e.g.

• Newfoundland Strategic Social Plan Social Audit
  Community Accounts
• Manitoba legislated sustainability indicator
  reporting
• Quebec Anti-poverty law four-day work week
  proposal
• AACC organic agriculture initiative
• NS Office of Health Promotion

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Innovative policy e.g Adjusting to new
employment realities

• Statistics Canada, General Social Surveys,
  Households Unpaid Work, Labour Force Surveys,
  Women in Canada, Women in the Workplace, CANSIM

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Dual Earner Families as Percent of All Families
in Canada

• Statistics Canada, Characteristics of Dual-Earner
  Families, Charting Canadian Incomes 1951-1981,
  Women in Canada

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Labour Force Participation Rate, Mothers with
Infants, 0-2, Canada,

• Statistics Canada, Canadian National Child-Care
  Study, Labour Force Annual Averages, Charting
  Canadian Incomes 1951-1981, Caring Communities

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Working Mothers 75 hours / week 38 highly time
stressed

• Statistics Canada, General Social Survey Andrew
  Harvey et. al., Where Does Time Go?, Statistics
  Canada GSS Analysis Series

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Long Work Hours and Health

• Women moving to longer work hours
• 4 times more likely to smoke
• Twice as likely to increase alcohol consumption
• 40 more likely decrease physical activity and
  gain weight
• 2x likely experience major depression
• Links to anxiety, strain, irritability, fatigue,
  sleeplessness, poor eating habits

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Long Work Hours and Health

• Less parental time with children may affect
  mental wellbeing of youth
• May hasten family breakdown
• Long-term subtle health consequences Nova
  Scotians spend 30 less time in kitchens than
  1992, eat more fast food -- impacts obesity,
  health of children (Harvard study)
• IN SUM economic, social realities inseparable
  and must be approached as one

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Hours per week spent Cooking and Washing Dishes,
Nova Scotia 1961-1998

• Statistics Canada, General Social Survey,
  Households Unpaid Work, Harvey et. al, Where
  Does Time Go?, Chris Jackson, The Value of
  Household Work in Canada.

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NS can be 1st in Canada to implement leading-edge
employment practices

• Voluntary work-time reduction can increase
  employment, productivity
• Improve balance work, family, free time
• Dutch part-timers get equal hourly pay, pro-rated
  benefits, equal opportunity career advancement.
  Dutch put in 1,370 hrs/yr compared to 1,732
  (Canada)

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Nova Scotia can be environmental leader

• Solid waste management- recycling-
• Smoke-free public places,
• HRM first to ban lawn pesticides
• Halifax Harbour, Sydney Tar Ponds
• Kyoto as economic opportunity.

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Can we do it? Waste Diversion in Nova Scotia
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First Steps Forward

• 1) Full-cost accounting, reporting of where we
  are with current data. Public costs, savings
  estimated WHAT
• 2) Understanding, analysis of key linkages
  between social, economic, environmental outcomes
  WHY
• 3) Identify targets and objectives WHERE TO.
• 4) New indicators are identified publicly and
  adopted. Independent verification by statistics
  agencies, others.
• 5)A cross-sectoral strategy and champions to
  promote objectives, monitor progress, get started
  HOW

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The challenge now - to integrate social and
economic development

• Will we play hesitation... or
• leapfrog?

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The Challenge and Opportunityfor Economic
Developers Step One...

• Inaugurate full-cost economic reporting to
  include human, social, and natural capital along
  with the manufactured and financial capital
  already counted.
• Statistics Canada has endorsed this approach, and
  created a framework. Methods, data available.
• Provides a bold, accountable basis for policy
  initiatives that join social, economic
  development
• Nova Scotia could become first province to
  implement it, serving as pilot and model for
  Canada

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What kind of world are we leaving our children?
Its up to us.